French Bandits Hold Up Train Near Marseilles

In a scene straight out of "The Great Train Robbery," a group of masked men reportedly held up a passenger train and robbed a freight train outside of Marseilles on Thursday night. So much for worrying about pickpockets.

A regional train with 26 passengers on board and a cargo train were forced to a stop as they approached a blockade made up of shopping carts and metal beams. The robbers looted several carriages then disappeared into the night.

Though the train was damaged, no ransom notes were left behind and no injuries were reported. It remains unclear what was taken.

After the incident, passengers disembarked and walked about a third of a mile to the nearest level crossing, Deutsche-Presse Agentur reported.

The railway union released a statement implying that Thursday's robbery proved the railway authority had not invested enough in the security of its sites.

There really isn't a way travelers can protect themselves against a heist of this sort, but it's nevertheless important to safeguard travel documents and not carry all of one's cash at once.